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​Buried in my extensive recipe collection was one for Beef Sates with Hoisin Dipping Sauce. A sate for this recipe is marinated skirt steak, skewered either on bamboo sticks or metal skewers and briefly grilled. The recipe is from Gourmet Magazine, August 1998.
 
For the recipe you’ll need wooden skewers, fresh garlic, fresh gingerroot, fresh lime juice, 8-ounces skirt steak, hoisin sauce, ketchup and lime wedges as an accompaniment. It just so happens that this week my local ShopRite will have flat iron steak on sale starting this Sunday, 
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​It’s a beautiful Sunday at the Jersey shore. The temperature is 70° with blue skies, no humidity and wispy clouds above. I’m sitting at my computer reflecting on the delicious dish I made the other evening, Creamy Pasta with Ricotta and Herbs. The recipe is from Melissa Clark of The New York Times from her column “A Good Appetite.” The recipe was captivating as it was made with just a handful of ingredients and relied on fresh soft herbs for flavor. As you recall, I have lots of herbs in my garden this summer. For this recipe you’ll need a short pasta (shells, cavatappi, farfalle, ditali or wagon wheels), freshly grated Parmesan cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, coarsely ground black pepper and fresh soft herbs such basil, chives, fennel fronds, parsley, mint, tarragon, chervil or dill.
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When I was growing up in north Jersey, we lived very close to Willowbrook Mall. Back in the 70’s the mall had a cafeteria style restaurant call “Hot Shoppes.” One of the entrees on the menu was a delicious, crispy fried chicken called Pappy Parker Fried Chicken. The combination of spices intertwined with the coating made for a heavenly dish. I've been trying to find a recipe that captures those flavors. 

 In my Instagram feed, my niece suggested I follow “Brunch with Babs.” If I recall, Babs got started on TikTok with videos she and her daughter created featuring family recipes; she now has a presence on Instagram. Recently, Babs posted her copycat recipe of KFC chicken inspired both from KFC and Cooks Country. Intrigued by this information, I decided to try her recipe. I read through her post which included the recipe and a video preparation.

For the recipe you’ll need 3 pounds of chicken, flour, cornstarch, paprika, black pepper, granulated garlic, sage, thyme, oregano, celery seed, Lawry’s seasoned salt, dried mustard, buttermilk and Bab’s hack of avocado oil instead of vegetable or peanut oil.  It’s a good thing I took a second look at the video while preparing my chicken, the ingredient list neglected to include cayenne pepper. I posted on her page as to how much cayenne is needed, but with 28,300 likes, my little question got lost in the 428 comments! I decided to start with a teaspoon. In lieu of purchasing Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, I found a copycat recipe online.

The other change on Bab’s recipe is to place a cast iron frying pan in a cold oven while preheating the oven to 450°. Once the pan and oven are hot, you add ½ cup of avocado oil for cooking the chicken. Instead of avocado oil, I used corn oil. The chicken cooks for approximately 30 minutes, or until the breasts register 160° and 170° for thighs and legs.
The chicken did have a nice crust, but the flavor was missing something. Could it have been that I needed a tablespoon of cayenne instead of a teaspoon? Other copycat recipes mention the secret ingredient as being MSG (monosodium glutamate) or Accent, as it’s more commonly known. I’m not sure adding Accent would enhance the flavor, but perhaps a heavier hand with certain spices would do the trick. I still prefer the chicken I had at the now closed Redhead Tavern in Manhattan. 

I Googled "Pappy Parker Fried Chicken" and found this on the website "Recipe Box. I haven't tried it yet, but will. I did pick up a good trip from an episode of "Cook's Country;" that is to mix some buttermilk into the flour coating and pinch it together to create small chucks of dough. Please note, it's not the recipe I'm pointing out, but how to achieve a crunchy exterior. 
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In the March 2022 issue of Southern Living Magazine, a recipe was published for Sesame Shrimp Stir-Fry. This quick and easy recipe is a great weeknight meal and can also be prepared ahead and frozen for up to six months. The recipe appealed to me because ingredients were readily available in my local food store and made for a light supper for my husband and I.
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Spring is here and my herb garden has expanded. My husband went a bit overboard and selected some varieties I wouldn’t have thought of. Besides the stalwarts of basil, parsley, oregano and rosemary, chives and sage, which were saved in the cold frame over winter, I now have dill (for homemade refrigerator pickles), chamomile (for making tea) and lemon-flavored varieties such as lemongrass, lemon verbena, lemon balm, lemon thyme plus flat and curly leaf parsley. This should make for a flavorful summer.
 
About a week ago my local ShopRite had Atlantic cod fish on special. I found a delightful recipe on The New York Times cooking app, Cod Baked with Prosciutto, by Nigella Lawson, using just a handful of ingredients. Besides the cod and prosciutto, you’ll need butter, salt and pepper. After reading the cooking notes of other cooks, I used some fresh thyme from my garden.
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​My local Foodtown had flank steak on special this week for $7.99/lb. I couldn’t resist picking up a package for supper. While I have several good flank steak recipes in my file, a food blogger is always on the lookout for the next, best recipe.
 
With that in mind, I searched the web for something unique. I came across the website for Taste of Home. In the late 90’s I was given a subscription to this magazine. The magazine uses recipes submitted by home cooks. Once submitted, the Taste of Home test kitchen staff works through each recipe and makes adjustments to ingredients, proportions, to name a few, to ensure consistency with results. Therefore, I felt confident in preparing “Slow-Cooker Mongolian Beef.”
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After a beautiful Sunday, Monday’s weather went from sun to rain, back to sun then rain again. I was undecided as to what to make for supper; then I remembered Whole Foods had Bell&Evans bone-in chicken breasts on special for $3.49/lb. I dug into my recipe box and found a recipe for Jerk Chicken.
 
I’ve had this recipe for many, many years and can’t recall where it’s from.  The recipe calls for vegetable oil, white wine vinegar, lime juice, sugar, scallions, fresh garlic, a jalapeno pepper, dried thyme, allspice, salt, cinnamon, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and three pounds of chicken parts. The combination of spices and cooking method is what gives the chicken its name. Also, it can be either a dry rub or a wet marinade
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​The sun is finally out, the weather is warmer and I hope it stays this way as we have family coming from out of state this week. I’ve been busy preparing things ahead of time so that I can enjoy their visit. What did I prepare ahead of their visit?
 
Let’s start with breakfast. I prepared British-Style Currant Scones, these are similar to something my sister-in-law used to enjoy from a local bakery, Easy No-Yeast Cinnamon Rolls, individual zucchini frittatas with Pecorino chives and mini hash brown frittatas.
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​As I walked through Wegmans last Sunday, I was trying to think of what I could prepare for supper that evening. As I passed through the seafood department I thought Shrimp Risotto would be a great alternative to beef or chicken. This time instead of purchasing wild caught, uncooked shrimp, I opted for something I haven’t seen before in the frozen seafood case, Wegmans Large Raw Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined Tail Off. The shrimp are farm raised in the United States, no chemical or antibiotics with a price of $12.99 for a pound of shrimp. The shrimp are 43 per bag, a bit smaller than the fresh, but considering I was using them for a risotto, I thought the size would be fine.
 
The recipe came from the website Epicurious and is an old recipe from the long-gone magazine, Gourmet from February 1998. For the recipe you’ll need chicken broth, dry white wine, butter, minced garlic, dried crushed red pepper, uncooked shrimp, onion, arborio rice and fresh parsley. I find using my LeCreuset braiser works the best for this task. The enameled cast iron offers good heat distribution and makes clean up a cinch. Also, for this recipe, I used homemade shrimp stock. 
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​What does grandma need? More time for herself these days. However, I do enjoy those short notice requests for Grandma/Nana to babysit. My husband offers to have dinner out, but honestly, I can prepare something quicker at home.
 
Lately, I’ve been on a stir-fry streak. For anyone that wants to get supper on the table quickly, it’s a one pan healthy meal with the protein and vegetable cooked together with a sauce that brings everything together; that’s what you get with Beef, Broccoli and Crisp Garlic Sauté. While you’re prepping your stir-fry, you can start your rice. 


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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